Friday, January 13, 2012

One of the other moms from Little Sister B's preschool class asked me recently if she was able to wear Big Sister E's hand-me-down shoes. I didn't even have to glance over at my daughter before answering, "Of course!"

After all, part of the benefit of having a pair of high quality, comfortable, distinctive and fashionable shoes for an older child is the knowledge that they're going to easily hold up well enough that they can be worn by a younger sibling.

And, when that footwear is available in styles from casual to dressy and for a wide range of stages of development (infants through 6+ years), it's clear that pediped has shoes that will always keep growing feet safe, healthy and looking good for years to come.

As much as we have always loved pediped footwear for their amazing shoes, everything that I have learned about them as a company has made me even more smitten.

Headquartered in Henderson, NV, the pediped foundation is the work of pediped footwear’s founders and co-owners Brian and Angela Edgeworth and co-owner Rudy Glocker. The mission of the pediped foundation is to enhance the lives of children through financial and product support to charities and organizations that are aligned with the foundation's mission.

Through working with charities that are dedicated to the health, education, basic necessities and the personal fulfillment of children around the world, 100% of the funds raised by the pediped foundation will go directly to these life-changing organizations.

So how can you help? By outfitting the child(ren) in your life with fantastic shoes, of course! pediped footwear is hosting a fundraiser called Purchases with Purpose that is going on now through February 5th that will directly benefit the pediped foundation. Select styles on pediped.com are marked down as much as 50% and half of the sales from those shoes will be donated to the pediped foundation to help children in need.

In addition to kicking off the New Year with the Purchases with Purpose sale, pediped has announced the launch of the pediped Rewards program. Customers who make a purchase on their website are automatically enrolled in the pediped Rewards program, which allows for them to earn cumulative rewards for every purchase they make:

Level 1 (spend $100 or more) - At Level 1, customers will receive a $5 credit to use on a future order and they will continue to receive a $5 credit for each additional $100 spent.

Level 2 (spend $150 or more) - At level 2, customers will receive free shipping on any order of $30 or more for the remainder of 2012.

Level 4 (spend $250 or more) - At level 4, customers will have through December 31, 2013 to use all of the rewards they have earned.

Who doesn't like to be rewarded for their shopping?

I love knowing that pediped is commited to giving back to the community and to their customers and the Purchases with Purpose fundraiser is the perfect time for shoppers to receive pediped Rewards and make a difference in the life of a child at the same time.

Around here, pediped has already made a difference by sending over a pair of their award-winning shoes for Big Sister E. Being the non-girly girl that she is, she ignored all of the designs with pink or Mary Jane styling and couldn't have been more excited when the Caleb Brown (no longer available) arrived for her.

These rugged tennis shoes are water safe and washable and the Velcro top closure and elastic laces make them extremely easy to get on and off. As well as the easy care, I love that the eco-friendly make up of these shoes are not only good for the earth, but also for Big Sister E's feet as the flexible uppers and soles encourage healthy foot growth.

But one of my absolute favorite features of these pediped shoes is that they contain their trademark Flex Fit System. By providing an additional set of insoles, these can be inserted for a more snug fit (they reduce the shoe size by almost half a size) and then removed for room as the child's foot grows. Talk about extending the life of a shoe!

I did choose these shoes in a size larger than what Big Sister E is just growing into, so I wasn't surprised when she put them on and found that they were a little loose. However, once we tried again with the extra insoles, they were nearly a perfect fit and she has been bursting at the seams waiting for her current pair of shoes to be fully outgrown so that she can start wearing these.

pediped footwear is sold in over 3000 stores in the United States and 40 countries worldwide with an offering of more than 120 designs for boys and girls between their three lines: Originals, Grip ‘n’ Go and Flex.

I always enjoy seeing the new styles and colors that are added to the collections and I appreciate that pediped is continuously working to improve their footwear (e.g. they are coming out with new soles on their Originals shoes) to be the very best possible. You'll want to be sure to sign up to be a pediped Insider (right on the homepage) so that you don't miss special promotions, new products, sales, discounts and more.

Plus, thanks to their generosity, one person will be able to outfit the young child in their life with a pair of great shoes as well, because...

One lucky person will win a pair of pediped Originals*!

*The giveaway winner will select the size and whether they would prefer a boy or girl design and pediped will select which style.

To enter to win: Visit pediped and leave me a comment telling me which shoes are your favorite (it will be difficult to pick just one)!

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted).

1 Extra Entry (per method) if you follow pediped on Twitter, Like them on Facebook and/or sign up to become a pediped Insider (found on the pediped homepage).1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the giveaways running on Thanks, Mail Carrier for the duration of this giveaway.1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

1 Extra Entry (per follow method) if you follow me with Google Friend Connect, subscribe to my RSS feed, subscribe to Thanks, Mail Carrier by email, become a fan on Facebook or add Thanks, Mail Carrier to your blogroll.2 Extra Entries if you put my cute button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.3 Extra Entries if you blog about this giveaway linking back to this post. Please leave an address where it can be found.

Giveaway will end on February 3rd at 11:59pm CST. By entering this sweepstakes, you are agreeing to these official rules. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited by law. Do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile, I have to have a way to contact the winner. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and must be 18 years of age or older.

A big thank you to pediped for providing a pair of Flex shoes for me to review as well as a pair of Originals for one lucky giveaway winner. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.